2023–24 Meralco Bolts season explained

Team:	Meralco Bolts
Pbayear:	2023–24
Coach:	Luigi Trillo
1C-Name:	Commissioner's Cup
1C-Wins:	8
1C-Losses:	3
1C-Place:	5
1C-Playoffs:	Quarterfinalist (lost to Phoenix Super LPG with twice-to-win disadvantage)
2C-Name:	Philippine Cup
2C-Wins:	6
2C-Losses:	5
2C-Place:	3
2C-Playoffs:	Champions (Defeated San Miguel, 4–2)
Owners:	Manila Electric Company
Manager:	Paolo Trillo
Prevseason:	2022–23
Nextseason:	2024–25

The 2023–24 Meralco Bolts season is the 13th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Key dates

September 17: The PBA Season 48 draft was held at the Market! Market! in Taguig.^[1]

Draft picks

See main article: article and PBA Season 48 draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Place of birth	College
1	8		C		De La Salle
3	32		G		Ateneo
4	43		F		UST
5	54		C		San Sebastian
6	62		G		Cheyenne HS

Preseason

PBA on Tour

Game log

|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 1| May 24| NorthPort| W 97–89| Allein Maliksi (21)| Raymar Jose (12)| Alvin Pasaol (7)| Ynares Sports Arena| 1–0|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 2| May 28| Phoenix Super LPG| L 93–100| Anjo Caram (24)| Jose, Torres (9)| Bong Quinto (11)| Ynares Sports Arena| 1–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 3| June 4| Converge| W 96–88| Allein Maliksi (16)| Raymond Almazan (14)| Bong Quinto (5)| Ynares Center| 2–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 4| June 10| San Miguel| W 92–89| Allein Maliksi (21)| Raymond Almazan (14)| Anjo Caram (7)| Tiaong Convention Center| 3–1|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 5| June 18| Terrafirma| L 102–107| Allein Maliksi (33)| Cliff Hodge (15)| Bong Quinto (10)| Ynares Sports Arena| 3–2|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 6| June 28| TNT| W 108–90| Allein Maliksi (28)| Cliff Hodge (13)| Bong Quinto (7)| Ynares Sports Arena| 4–2|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 7| July 2| Magnolia| L 101–121| Diego Dario (22)| Bong Quinto (9)| Allein Maliksi (7)| Filoil EcoOil Centre| 4–3|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 8| July 5| Barangay Ginebra| W 106–93| Allein Maliksi (23)| Raymond Almazan (12)| Cliff Hodge (6)| Quadricentennial Pavilion| 5–3|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 9| July 12| NLEX| W 96–83| Alvin Pasaol (25)| Raymond Almazan (8)| Aaron Black (9)| Ynares Sports Arena| 6–3|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 10| July 14| Blackwater| L 82–89| Almazan, Quinto (18)| Raymond Almazan (14)| Diego Dario (4)| Ynares Sports Arena| 6–4|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 11| July 28| Rain or Shine| W 103–95| Raymar Jose (22)| Raymar Jose (18)| Aaron Black (10)| Ynares Sports Arena| 7–4

MassKara Festival exhibition

Game log

|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 1| October 19| Rain or Shine| L 81–94| Diego Dario (20)| Raymar Jose (11)| Black, Dario, Pasaol (3)| La Salle Coliseum| 0–1

Commissioner's Cup

Eliminations

Game log

|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 1| November 8| Rain or Shine| W 107–102| Suleiman Braimoh (34)| Suleiman Braimoh (14)| Aaron Black (4)| PhilSports Arena| 1–0|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 2| November 11| Blackwater| W 91–84 | Suleiman Braimoh (40)| Suleiman Braimoh (16) | Chris Newsome (6)| Ynares Center| 2–0|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 3| November 19| San Miguel| L 83–93 | Chris Newsome (22)| Suleiman Braimoh (12) | Chris Newsome (6)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 2–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 4| November 26| TNT| W 109–95 | Suleiman Braimoh (37) | Raymond Almazan (11)| Chris Newsome (5)| PhilSports Arena| 3–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 5| December 3| NLEX| W 97–94 | Suleiman Braimoh (38) | Almazan, Braimoh (8)| Braimoh, Quinto (4)| PhilSports Arena| 4–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 6| December 10| NorthPort| W 125–99| Zach Lofton (54)| Raymond Almazan (15)| Diego Dario (6)| PhilSports Arena| 5–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 7| December 17| Converge| W 105–99| Zach Lofton (30)| Chris Newsome (10)| Cliff Hodge (7)| Ynares Center| 6–1|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 8| December 22| Barangay Ginebra| L 96–110 | Zach Lofton (23)| Cliff Hodge (8)| Zach Lofton (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 6–2|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 9| January 6| Magnolia| W 85–80| Shonn Miller (33)| Shonn Miller (22)| Banchero, Newsome (4)| University of San Agustin Gym| 7–2|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 10| January 10| Phoenix Super LPG| L 83–93| Shonn Miller (19)| Shonn Miller (9)| Chris Newsome (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 7–3|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 11| January 12| Terrafirma| W 109–102| Shonn Miller (29)| Shonn Miller (21)| Bong Quinto (9)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 8–3

Playoffs

Game log

|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 1| January 17| Phoenix Super LPG| W 116–107 (3OT)| Cliff Hodge (20)| Shonn Miller (20)| Newsome, Quinto (4)| PhilSports Arena| 1–0|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 2| January 21| Phoenix Super LPG| L 84–88| Hodge, Maliksi, Newsome (15)| Shonn Miller (12)| Miller, Newsome (6)| SM Mall of Asia Arena| 1–1

Philippine Cup

Eliminations

Game log

|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 1| February 28| Blackwater| L 93–96| Allein Maliksi (27)| Chris Newsome (7)| Banchero, Newsome (6)| Ynares Center| 0–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 2| March 2| Rain or Shine| W 121–117 (OT)| Allein Maliksi (26)| Chris Newsome (11)| Bong Quinto (6)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 1–1|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 3| March 6| NLEX| L 96–99| Chris Newsome (22)| Chris Newsome (8)| Chris Newsome (4)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 1–2|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 4| March 10| NorthPort| L 85–90| Aaron Black (18)| Cliff Hodge (11)| Chris Banchero (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 1–3|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 5| March 15| Barangay Ginebra| W 91–73| Allein Maliksi (25)| Almazan, Black, Hodge (7)| Chris Newsome (4)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 2–3|- align="center"|colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 6| April 3| Terrafirma| W 86–83| Bong Quinto (18)| Chris Newsome (8) | Chris Newsome (8)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 3–3|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 7| April 7| TNT| L 90–92 | Black, Hodge (16)| Aaron Black (8)| Chris Newsome (5)| Ninoy Aquino Stadium| 3–4|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 8| April 21| Converge| L 99–104 | Chris Newsome (25)| Cliff Hodge (9)| Aaron Black (6)| PhilSports Arena| 3–5|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 9| April 26| Phoenix| W 82–76| Aaron Black (18)| Bates, Hodge (12)| Black, Quinto (4)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 4–5|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 10| April 28| Magnolia| W 74–51| Almazan, Newsome (12)| Raymond Almazan (11)| Chris Newsome (7)| PhilSports Arena| 5–5|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 11| May 4| San Miguel| W 95–92 | Cliff Hodge (20)| Cliff Hodge (13)| Chris Newsome (6)| Batangas City Sports Center| 6–5

Playoffs

Game log

|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 1| May 8| NLEX| W 97–93| Allein Maliksi (22)| Hodge, Newsome (7)| Chris Newsome (6)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 1–0|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 2| May 10| NLEX| W 100–81| Chris Banchero (23)| Chris Newsome (9)| Chris Banchero (6)| Rizal Memorial Coliseum| 2–0|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 1| May 17| Barangay Ginebra| L 88–92| Chris Newsome (21)| Chris Newsome (13)| Chris Banchero (8)| Mall of Asia Arena| 0–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 2| May 19| Barangay Ginebra| W 103–91| Allein Maliksi (25)| Cliff Hodge (10)| Caram, Hodge, Newsome (3)| Mall of Asia Arena| 1–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 3| May 22| Barangay Ginebra| W 87–80| Allein Maliksi (16)| Almazan, Bates (9)| Chris Newsome (6)| Dasmariñas Arena| 2–1|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 4| May 24| Barangay Ginebra| L 71–90| Banchero, Maliksi (14)| Allein Maliksi (6)| Chris Banchero (3)| Mall of Asia Arena| 2–2|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 5| May 26| Barangay Ginebra| L 84–89| Chris Banchero (18)| Cliff Hodge (8)| Chris Banchero (6)| Mall of Asia Arena| 2–3|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 6| May 29| Barangay Ginebra| W 86–81| Bong Quinto (23)| Raymond Almazan (11)| Chris Banchero (8)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 3–3|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 7| May 31| Barangay Ginebra| W 78–69| Chris Banchero (24) | Brandon Bates (13)| Chris Newsome (6)| FPJ Arena| 4–3|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 1| June 5| San Miguel| W 93–86| Banchero, Newsome (18)| Cliff Hodge (15)| Banchero, Newsome (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 1–0|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 2| June 7| San Miguel| L 94–95| Cliff Hodge (25)| Bates, Hodge (9)| Chris Newsome (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 1–1|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 3| June 9| San Miguel| W 93–89| Chris Newsome (26)| Almazan, Hodge (13)| Chris Banchero (6)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 2–1|-bgcolor=ffcccc| 4| June 12| San Miguel| L 101–111| Chris Newsome (40)| Cliff Hodge (10)| Chris Newsome (4)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 2–2|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 5| June 14| San Miguel| W 92–88| Maliksi, Newsome (22)| Cliff Hodge (9)| Chris Newsome (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 3–2|-bgcolor=ccffcc| 6| June 16| San Miguel| W 80–78| Chris Newsome (15)| Raymond Almazan (10)| Chris Banchero (8)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 4–2

East Asia Super League

Group stage

Game log

Transactions

Trades

Pre-season

Recruited imports

Tournament	Name	Debuted	Last game	Record
		November 8, 2023	December 3, 2023	4–1
		December 10, 2023	December 22, 2023	2–1
		January 6, 2024	January 21, 2024	3–2

Awards

Recipient	Award	Date awarded
Chris Newsome	2024 PBA Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player	June 16, 2024^[4]
Honors
Chris Newsome	2023–24 PBA Mythical First Team	August 18, 2024^[5]
Chris Newsome	2023–24 PBA All-Defensive Team
Cliff Hodge	2023–24 PBA Mythical Second Team
Cliff Hodge	2023–24 PBA All-Defensive Team

Notes and References

https://pba.ph/news/holt-is-the-anointed-one-bigs-main-staple-in-season-48-draft
News: Gerry . Ramos . Noy Baclao finds a new home at SMB after signing at end of PBA On Tour . Spin.ph . September 22, 2023.
News: Meralco trades Mac Belo to Rain or Shine for Norbert Torres . Spin.ph . September 22, 2023.
Web site: Bolts end 14 years of fruitless campaigns, rule Season 48 Philippine Cup . June 16, 2024 . PBA.ph . August 19, 2024.
Web site: Legend lives on as Fajardo wins record 8th MVP award . August 18, 2024 . PBA.ph . August 19, 2024.